Advances in diagenesis
over the past ten years have made it possible for the first time to accurately
predict the physical properties of some sandstone types away from well
or outcrop control data. These advances are based on a breakthrough in
the classic diagenetic problem of quartz cementation coupled with important
new models for sandstone compaction and permeability. When integrated
with depositional and burial history models, these diagenetic models can
be used to predict critical rock properties such as porosity and permeability
through both time and space. Workers are now trying to extend these models
to predict the effects of faulting and fracturing on sandstone fluid-flow
characteristics as well as to predict seismic attributes and other fundamental
rock properties.